David Foster, author of the bestselling Reading with God and Deep Calls to Deep, extends their discussion of contemplative prayer in terms of its philosophical framework. Contrasting a traditional framework with one based on continental philosophy, Foster explores a number of metaphysical and epistemological questions as well as the place of silence in a philosophy of language. He defends traditional insights of the mystical tradition, including its underlying metaphysical realism, religious experience as awareness of God, and the role of apophatic discourse in mysticism, arguing that the sense of God's absence can be a threshold of prayer.

David Foster

Dom David Foster is a Benedictine monk of Downside Abbey, where he was Prior and Novice Master, as well as Chaplain of Downside School. He now teaches in the Benedictine College of Sant' Anselmo in Rome.